Automatic entrance protector



' 1,632,683 June 14, 1927- GHLETRACY AUTOMATIC ENTRANCE PROTECTOR I Original Filed Feb. 18, 1925 3 She ats-Sheet l ATTCRN EY I l racy WITNESS:

June l4 1927. I 1,632,683

G. L. TRACY AUTOMATIC ENTRANCE PROTECTOR Original Filed Feb. 18, 1925 3 Sheets-Shet 2 WITNESS:

T 11532583 G. L. TRACY I AUTOMATIC ENTRANCE PROTECTOR Original Filed Feb. 18 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 June 14', 1927.

Fl k A IIORNEY WITNESS:

the

Patented June 14, 1927.

UNITED STATES.

- 1,632,683 PATENT OFFICE,

enonen L. TRACY, or s1. LOUIS, mrssounr.

nuromrro nurneuon rnorncron.

Application filed February 18, 1925, Serial No. 10,131. Renewed February 18 1927.

This invention relates to vestibules, and more particularly to the arrangement of the dOOI'S'lJllBI'GfOI, to protect banks and other business establishments from loss by holdups and robberies.

In carrying out the invention, it is my purpose to provide a vestibule for business establishments, the vestibule. including doors arranged in pairs, the doors of each pair being a apted to be singly opened and closed, and associated with means whereby one door of each pair is automatically locked when the other door is opened, thus necessitating the closing of the last mentioned doorbefore the first mentioned door can be opened.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of an electrically operated means for locking the doors totrap a person within the vestibule, said means being operated through the instrumentality of a switch which can be located at any convenient point in the bank or other establishment.

The nature and advantages of the invention will be better understood when the following detailed description is read in connection with the accompanying drawings, the invention residing in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts as claimed.

In the drawings forming part of this application, like numerals of reference indicate similar parts in the several views, and wherein: a

Figure 1 is'a plan view of the invention partly in section and showing one door of each air opened and the other door of each pair .ocked in its closed position. H Y Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1. v

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on lin 33 of Figure 1. g

Fi 4 is a view in elevation showing oors closed, and the electrically operated means for locking the doors from some point remote therefrom.

Referring to the drawin sin detail, A

' indicates generally a vestib e primaril intended to be used in banks and other usiness establishments and includes an arrangement of doors and means for operating the latter to prevent such business places from losses as the result of holdups' and robberies. The vestibule A consists of a box like casing of a to fit the entrance opening to the building with which it is used, and this the vestibule is divided by a hollow. artition 10 into halves as illustrated in igures 1 of Figure 1 that the hollow partition defines a central compartment 11, while formed at and 3. It will be noted from an inspection When one door is opened, either upon en- I tering the building or leaving the latter, the other door 'of the particular air of doors being used is automatically loc ed, and cannot be opened until the first mentioned door is fully closed. The vestibule is so built that only one person at a time can enter or leave the building, and it will be noted that the doors swing in the direction of travel. In other words, one pair of doors will be used to enter the building and the other pair used to leave the building and as shown in Fi ure 1 .one' door of each pair swingsinwar ly, while the other door of said pair swings outwardly.

- door 15 by means of alink 18, which operates throu h an opening 19 in the adjacent wall of t e compartment 12. The other end of the lever 16 supports a locking bolt 20 which slidesthrough an opening in the adjacent wall of' the compartment 12 at a right angle to the lever 16 and is ada ted'to be received by an opening in jacent door 14 when the latter is closed. It will be noted that the door 1eis hinged on the adjacent wall of the central compartment 11 to swing outwardly,

' while the door 15 is hinged on the adjacent wall of the compartment 12 and adapted to swing inwardly as indicated. For locking the door 15 I employ a locking bolt 20 which is connected with the adjacent branch 22 of a bell crank lever fulcrumed in the compartrm'ant 11, the other branch 23 of this lever being connected to a bar'24 which has its lower end connected with the door 14 by means of the short arm 25 operating through the opening 26 in the adjacent wall of the compartment 11.

Flgure 1 at the left hand side illustrates the arrangement of the doors just referred to when the person is leaving the bank or building with which the invention is used.

Assuming that the party' has entered the vestibule and the door 15 subsequently closed, that he is able to leave the vestibule by open lug the door 14 as shown. When the door 15 is opened, the lever 16 is rocked upon its fulcrum 17, thereby projecting the locking bolt 20 to its active position to lock the door 14, and this door remains in its locked posi tion with the person in the vestibule, and cannot be opened to allow the person to pass from the vestibule until after the door 15 moves to its closed position. When the door 15 assumes its closed position as shown at the left hand side of Figure 1, the movement of the lever 16 is reversed thereby retracting the bolt 20 to the position shown in Figure 1, releasing the door 14, so that it can be readily opened. When the door 14 is swung to an opened positioned the bar 24 is moved in a direction to rock the bell crank lever on its pivot 27, the lever being moved to project the locking bolt 21 into active association with the door 15, thereby locking the latter. When the door is subsequently closed, the

locking bolt 21- is retracted, so that both doors are normally unlocked.

The same mechanism is employed in connection with the doors at the right hand side of the vestibule as shown in Figure 1,

except the lever arrangement is slightlv changed in view of the fact that the door 14v at this side of the vestibule swings inwardly while the door 15 swings outwardly. As shown the door 14 at the right of the vestibule s pivoted on the adjacent wall of\ the central compartment to swing inwardly, while the door 15is pivoted on the adjacent wall of the compartment 12 to swing outwardly which arrangement is just t e reverse from thatshown at the left hand side of Figure 1. Therefore for automatically locking the door 15 I employ a lever 28 "which is fulcrumed at a point between its ends as at 29 within the central compartment 11. ThlS lever 26 is o erated in the same manner as the lever 16 a ove referred to, that {is to say it is connected by means of a link 30 withthe door 14, while associated with the other end of the lever is a locking bolt 31 adapted to enter an;opening in the adjacent door 15 to lock the latter when the door 14 is opened.

For locking the door 14, I use a bar 32 which is arranged within the compartment 13 and controlled in the same manner as the bar 24 above referred to, in that one end of or advisa le to do so.

this bar is connected with the door 15 by an arm 33 operating through a suitable opening 34, in the adjacent wall of the compartment 13.

The other end of this bar 32 is connected with the adjacent branch 35 of a bell crank lever pivoted as at 36, while associated with the other branch 37 of said lever is a locking bolt 38 adapted to project into an opening provided in the door 14 to lock the latter when the door 15 is opened. The building is entered through the doors just referred to,,and as shown in the right hand side of Figure 1. When the door 14 is swung inwardly, to its opened position, the lever 28 is rocked upon its pivot to lock the door 15 as described. This door remains in its locked position until the door 14 is t'ully closed, the closing movement of the door 14 reversing the movement of the lever 28, thereby unlocking the door 15.. After the door 14 has been closed, the door 15 may be opened, and when the latter is swung outwardly to its opened position, it actuates the bar 32, which in turn rocks the bell crank .lever on its pivot 36 in a direction to project the locking bolt 38 into active association with the door 14. So it is clear that anyone upon entering the vestibule, either for the purl" se of entering the building or leaving the latter cannot rush through the vestibule, and is temporarily trapped between either pair'of doors, because one can not be opened until the other is fully closed.

In addition to automatically locking the doors and releasing the same in the manner set forth, I contemplate the provision of an electrically controlled mechanism for simultaneously locking all of the doors as the occasion may require, thus preventing the escape of anyone who happens to be in the vestibule at the time the mechanism is employed. This electrical mechanism is adapted to be operated from a remote point and includes a switch which can be located at any convenient part of the bank or other building. While I have shown a single switch for'this pur stood that any num er of switches ma be used and arranged'at different arts 0 the bank or building so that the oorscan be locked as the occasion may require by any of the em loyees who may deem it necessary The switch is indicatedgenerally at 40 and 'is preferably of the push button type, and while the switch is shown as being arranged upon the "floor se, it is to be under-' 41 thereby actuated by the foot, the switch this figure it .will be noted that each lever 52 is fulcrumed as at 43 at a oint between its endsand thatthe up or en of each lever has associated therewit a locking bolt 44 which when the lever 42 is moved in one direction, projects the bolt 44 into active association with vthe adjacent door. These levers 42 are normally held in the positions illustrated in Figure 4, through the instrumentality of springs 45, and are adapted to be'moved. in an opposite direction against the tension of'said springs, to project the bolts 44 to their active positions, by magnets 46. As shown in Figure 4, th e is one of these magnets arranged in eac of thecompartments 12 and 13 respectively, and i also located with relation to t p e free end of the lever 42, to attract the levers when the magnets are energized. These levers are arranged in the compartments 12 and 13 because the doors 14 as shown in Figure 1 are both pivoted on the adjacentwalls of the central compartment 41. From this it follows that the levers 42 for the outer doors 15 are arranged within the central compartment 11, because both of the outer doors are pivoted upon the end co mpartments 12 and 13 respectively,and swmg in the direction of the central compartment 11. The levers 42 in the central compartment 11 are pivoted at points between their ends as at 47, and the corresponding up rends levers have associated therewith lockin bolts 48 which are ada ted to be projecte to active association wit the doors 15 when the levers aremoving in one direction. The manner of mounting these levers 42 and controlling the movements thereof is exactly the same as thatdescribed in connection with the levers 42 arranged in the end" compartment; That isfto say that the levers of these 42 in the compartment 11- are normally held m their inactive positions by means of springs 49, while arranged between the free of the lovers 42, above described, to simultaneously lock both sets of doors forming part of the vestibule structure.

While it is believed that from the fore going description, the nature and advantages of the invention will be readil apparent, I desire to have it understood t at I do not limit myself to what is herein shown and described and that such changes may be resorted to when desired as fall within the sco e of what is claimed.

aving thus described the mvention, I claim: I

-A device of the character described-in cludin swin doors arranged at opposite ends andiiii gedly connected to opposite sides of a passage way, said doors mounted for swinging movement in the same general direction and normally maintained in an unlocked position, slidably mounted locking bolts 11 n opposite sides and at opposite ends of the passage, means connecting the locln'ng bolt at one end of the Passage with the door at the opposite end 0 the passage whereby swin g movement of said door will actuate t e locking bolt to lock the other dooragainst movement.

whereof I aflix my signature.

In testimony j GEORGE L. TRACY. 

